I recently received a new wireless project and I wanted to get some feedback from my counterparts on what you would suggest.

I currently have a wireless access point for our corporate use (Dlink DWL-2100ap) which only covers a small area due to the restrictions of the antenna range. I'm in the medical industry that will be migrating to laptops that will need to be connected throughout the entire facility in order to check patient records and data entry on the fly.

So my question is what type of range extender or other device can I use that would allow me cover a building that is square in design, but will keep the wireless signal strong enough to go throughout the building. I'm aware that a few of these devices would need to be purchased and I was looking at placing these around the hallways up in the ceiling to keep them not only out of sight but also that no one could tamper with them.

I've tried the Hawkin HWREN1 but the problem with those is that every time you add one to the network it will not assume the same SSID name and a new one has to be created.

If anyone has completed a similar project or has found a worthy enough device, I'm open to suggestions.

8 Replies

Yep... Definately right on this one. use an "AP" not extender. I use a Linksys WAP4400N and it is sweet. Been thru several and installed wireless in 30 + hotels. Plus... this one is readily available at BestBuy so you can try it out and if no worky... take it back. Good Luck!

Take a peek at the Cisco Aironet AP's. They're a bit pricey, but should give you the features you need to work with your PKI, RADIUS, and other security services that your medical network should be running.

It'll be hard to find an enterprise-level wireless repeater with the features you need.